Red string
by nwishlover
Summary: Arachne contemplates about the children of Athena. Or, in which Arachne wasn't a complete moron.


**No, I do not own the Percy jackson series.**

 **Alsooooooo, Arachne looks like this in my story:** **art/Arachne-99024859**

 **As for why she's like that? Well, she's more human in my version. Both literally and metaphorically.**

 **Also, I have a few references here, try to spot them.**

* * *

The girl had been a fool.

For a child of the goddess of wisdom, she had tried a truly moronic way of trying to trick me.

I mean Chinese handcuffs, really? Did she truly expect that the person whose only source of happiness was art, had not asked about the newest art that was in the upper world from my children, or her siblings that wandered down here for that matter.

You would think, that the children would realize their situation when they saw the bones that littered the ground. But of course they tried to trick me, be it trying to stroke my ego, telling me that there was something behind me and either run or attack, or even telling me that there was something shiny in that pit of tartarus.

Little did they realize, that my ego was nonexistent, courtesy of being turned into a spider. Or that trying to stab me in my legs, would be just as effective as stabbing concrete. And, that I did not care for any sort of objects, be they shiny or not. All of them got the customary slash in the throat.

The ones that tried to run were always the most interesting. They all simply walked back in.

All of them knew. They knew that even if they managed to escape, they would simply suffer for the rest of their lives, and the rest of eternity for failing a mission by a goddess. Courtesy of their oh so dear and generous mother. She would simply look the other way, conceiving another demigod to fulfill the mission, while her children suffered. If not in the fields of punishment, then at least Asphodel.

Such cruelty, is a great inspiration to my art.

But, of course, I am getting off track. The humans that run are the most interesting, simply because they will actually speak to me when I ask questions.

I usually ask about the new art that is in their world, be it paintings, statues or other things. In return, they ask about what life was like in my time. When we are done with questions, they usually ask to see some of my work. Some of them try to trick me, but most simply tell genuine compliments. The girl that came earlier, was not smart enough to realize that I did not care for the praise of gods. If anything, I would simply give them to people who liked them. Even Athena's children, if they wanted to.

Unfortunately, they wither away in a few days. Sometimes they last a week or so if they brought water, but even then they die from lack of food. When dehydration and food deprivation start to take effect, most start to ask about what my family and life was like. I answer them truthfully: I never knew my mother, my father only saw me as someone who would bring him a large dowry, and that I had a hard life before discovering that I was good at weaving.

Some, tell me about their own families. A few tell me about this or that family member, and how they will miss them. Several have told me about their hatred of specific members of their family, and how Athena was never there for them before giving them the mission. However, I find the ones that don't have anyone who would miss them the most disheartening to hear.

After their body starts shutting down, most of them simply stay quiet, or ask me to put them out of their misery. I always comply.

A few, however, confide in me. They tell me that it wasn't fair that Athena had cursed me. That they were sorry for what their mother had done to me. And that they hated their mother, and blamed her for all the bad things that had happened to them. I do not know how much of their words are caused by their physical condition, but I suspect that they came from thoughts that they never gave the slightest attention to. For fear, that their 'dear mother' would punish them for the blasphemous thoughts.

... I asked one of the children once, how many were born every year. He told me he had overheard a centaur talking to the wine god.

Twenty seven. That is the average of children of Athena born every year. Only three or five enter this chamber in a _century._

I do not hate the children of Athena.

Oh, in the beginning, I did. I believed that they were as much at fault as Athena was.

But, unlike the gods, I changed.

One day, I simply realized that they were as cursed as I am. If not more so. Born simply for the sole purpose of getting this statue out of here. A thing that, might I add, is impossible without help. You would need at least twenty humans to lift it, but the goddess of wisdom only ever sends one at a time. And after failing this impossible quest, they get to, at best: forget everything about themselves, and at worst they get to suffer for all of eternity.

I believe she likes to see them fail. It must bring some sick enjoyment from sending her children to die, time after time after time again. So many times in fact, that I doubt that she even remembers any of them.

Unlike her, _I_ remember all of her children.

Me, her mortal enemy, knows her children better than she does.

I have immortalized all of her children in my paintings. Every detail of each and every one of her children has been weaved into my paintings. And even in that small insignificant gesture, I did more good to them than their mother ever had.

Gaia sent a few messengers to me a week or so ago. She said to be vary of a blond haired child of Athena and that she had friends that could help her.

However, I know they cannot. This place is deep underground and can never be reached by anyone else except children of Athena. If someone were to dig directly above this place, there would be only dirt and rock. Whether it is the mist or something else, I do not know. However, the other mortals would have discovered me when they were building the car park 'above me'.

When she arrived, I was almost willing to let her take it. To let this nightmare be over and for there to no more death over this petty squabble.

But, I could not. Not after all of the death that the children have gone through. To have them all die in vain, and their mother think that she was in the right to send these children to die.

And I knew, I _knew_ if I let her take it, Athena would simply do the same to someone else. Such is the way of gods.

Either way, it doesn't matter now. Without the Pallas Athena the demigods shall fall and, so shall the gods in quickly after.

I suppose I should feel bad about causing even more death of demigods. But all I feel, is relief about no one suffering in the hands of the gods anymore.

And yet, there is something that I do not comprehend. Why do they need this accursed statue so much? Surely they must understand? It doesn't symbolize anything other than the the petty disputes of gods, and the bloodshed that accompany them. It is one of the reasons why it is here, after all. It is a part of this exhibit as much as anything else.

In fact, this whole war is because of the disputes of gods.

The goddess of wisdom has to think ahead of these sorts of matters, doesn't she? She must understand,

it will never be enough.

When she has thirty Pallas Athena's, and when she has all the mortals worshiping her, and when all the other gods bow down before her,

And the thrill of her victory wears off.

And It _will_ wear off.

Then what?

None of it was ever really hers. If anything, this statue is here is for her children. It never was, nor will it ever be hers. She has walked down this road for her whole immortal life, and she still does not understand what she has done. What lives she has ruined.

In the end, it comes down to this: Gaia will defeat the demigods. With the doors of death open, whatever resistance will quickly be subjugated, or killed.

And after all of this, the Olympians shall fall. I will take great pleasure in being a part of that attack.

Gaia has even promised me to let me be the one to have Athena, in exchange for the life of the blond haired demigod. And, one life against the lives of millions, how could I possibly refuse?

I will take great enjoyment In breaking Athena.

Her anger, pain, fear and humiliation will inspire me for years to come.

I will make her living body into masterpiece. A masterpiece, that the whole world shall see.

It will be _art_ in every sense of the word.

And I will keep her for the rest of eternity, so she can feel a _fraction,_ of the pain she has wrought on her children.

But, that is in the future.

Now, it is time for me to make art from a child of Athena for one last time.

She should be waking up soon. And when she does, well...

It has been far too long since I have been able to use red string in my paintings.

* * *

 **All right, so after I wrote this story I decided to go read the ending part of the Mark of Athena.**

 **Turns out, Annabeth was the _only_ person to ever make it to Arachne's chamber.**

 **As it is, without Percy and her friends, she'd been fucked. There is absolutely no fucking way she would be able to move it without their help, broken leg or not.** **I was trying to exaggerate. But the quest is LITERALLY impossible without someone who can help you. And it makes no fucking sense that a goddess who is _EXTREMELY_ prideful, would allow that.**

 **It would have fixed most of my problems, not all but most, if Arachne had just said that a few had ever made it to that point. A few!**

 **... And maybe, juuuuuuuust maaaayyyybe, it's a comparison about her pride. It's a nice comparison about how her friends are her power, and that your pride can consume you, and that your friends can help you through the toughest times, and that you just need to let them help you blah blah blah.**

 **And you know what? I'm fine with that.**

 **BUT DO IT. WITHIN A CONTEXT. THAT MAKES _SENSE._**

 _ **You wanna know what the problem is? Well I'll tell you. Countless, fucking, COUNTLESS  people have died in the trials.**_

 _ **You think those people didn't have friends? You think they didn't have people who were hurt time after time after goddamn Time again, when they died? What about the people who were humble, huh? Or the other prideful people? Were they TOO prideful? Were they all too stupid?**_

 **Rick Riordan is pretty much saying this "Oh those people? They just weren't SMART enough. Annabeth is especially smart. How? I don't know!"**

 **It is EXTREMELY unfair to simply do or say that. The only reason Annabeth survived is because of the Argo II. Not even really her friends! The other demigods? Well I guess they were just born in the wrong time!**

 **Mr. Riordan says that Annabeth's flaw is pride.**

 _ **That a load of spider crap if I ever saw one. I could shit out a more prideful person than Annabeth.**_ ** _Her pride has only ever gotten her in trouble in the Percy Jackson books. NEVER in the heroes of Olympus. The character flaw, must hence change._**

 **Sure, she prides herself on being smart. But it is a character flaw, that isn't a character flaw. Y'see, a deadly character flaw, is something that actually matters. Pride _rarely_ gets in the way of what she is doing.**

 **But, her flaw never gets her into trouble. Sure, she might shoulder a lot of things on herself because she thinks the others are so incompetent that they can't do what she does. And, APPARENTLY, she's right! Because if nobody, _NOBODY_ GOT TO THE POINT WHERE SHE GOT BEFORE HER, THEN THAT MAKES THE COMPARISON USELESS! BECAUSE SHE WAS RIGHT! SHE APPARENTLY _WAS_ THE ONLY PERSON WHO COULD DO IT AFTER ALL! YOU THINK PERCY COULD HAVE HELPED HER?! OR, OR LEO?**

 **And that's why a comparison doesn't work. If he's comparing Annabeth to Arachne, then Annabeth is in the right to be to be prideful.**


End file.
